Rule of Law in the EU: perceived independence of the justice system in the EU 2022

Among European Union citizens, a majority have consistently rated the independence of judicial systems within the union as either very good or fairly good since 2016. Judicial independence is a key pillar of the rule of law, as it prevents the justice system from being used by political or economic interests to promote their agenda or to persecute their opponents, a problem which is often the case in non-democratic countries.

While there was a slight improvement in the EU's overall score after 2016, the share of EU citizens saying they perceive judicial independence negatively has remained steady at around 35 percent.